This was an article from a tri cities paper. he sounds like a pretty neat kid that would be a good addition to any team
There’s batty.
There’s bonkers.
And then there’s Brandon Rutherford.
For the Tennessee High kicker/punter, there’s times when the screw isn’t loose – it’s not even there.
"One day we were on the sideline and he darted out of nowhere and just sprinted all the way to the middle of the field and tackled a dummy," said teammate and best friend Austin Rowell. "We didn’t even know what he was doing. We were just having a normal conversation and all of sudden we just saw him sprint. He didn’t even say a word."
Or take this scenario:
Tennessee High is clinging to a 17-14 third-quarter lead having just allowed back-to-back touchdowns against Science Hill in a key Big Eight Conference matchup when the Vikings’ offense stalls at midfield, bringing up a 4th-and-2.
Rutherford saddles up to coach Greg Stubbs with an idea – how about a fake punt? Stubbs, according to Rutherford, ponders the proposal, but says no,
Seconds later, there’s Rutherford falling inches short of the first down after he ran the fake anyway.
"The Science Hill [fake] was my call," Rutherford said, shaking his head now at his "bad mistake."
"They weren’t too pleased," the senior added about his coaches’ reaction (Stubbs respectfully declined to comment on the play). "Let’s just say five miles was not worth it."
Even so, Rutherford doesn’t shy away from his eccentric rep.
"That’s kind of me," he said after Rowell finished his tackling dummy story.
But antics hilarious and inexplicable aside, there’s something Rutherford won’t stand to be called.
"I’m not," he said with funeral-parlor seriousness, "a loser."
Bristol beckons
Harsh as it may be, though, Rutherford was just that during his freshman and sophomore season playing for Lenoir City just outside of Knoxville.
The Panthers went 1-19 during his two years at the school with the lone win coming by a single point.
"We had a poor attitude down there," Rutherford said. "It was kind of like at [Sullivan] East. Just everybody knew we’d come out Friday night and we knew we were going to lose."
After falling 35-6 to Maryville to close out his sophomore season on a nine-game losing streak, Rutherford decided he needed a change.
"I came out of the locker room, and I don’t want to say this, but I was crying," he recalled. "I was tearing up. It wasn’t because the seniors were gone, I was tearing up because I was just fed up with it. I just got sick of it and I was just like, ‘I need to get out of here, Mom.’ She was like, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘I think we need to go.’ "
But Rutherford wasn’t just a frustrated kid spouting off.
He had a place in mind.
Rutherford’s grandfather is Tennessee High legend Gene Felty, who starred for the Vikings in the 1940s before later returning as head coach. His uncle, Rusty Felty, also played football for Tennessee High and his mom, Traci Rutherford, was a standout swimmer for the Vikings.
And although Brandon Rutherford had grown up in Lenoir City, he was well-versed in Viking lore.
"Ever since I was a kid, I remember coming up here and visiting my grandma over here on Edgemont, and I remember passing by the Castle on Friday nights," he said. "Those lights? There was nothing else that compared in this world when I was kid."
With his mom blessed with a flexible work-from-home job from a Knoxville-based company, Brandon and Traci moved to Bristol in time for him to enroll at Tennessee High for the spring semester of his sophomore year.
Rutherford spent 2009 as the kickoff specialist for the Big Eight Conference champion Vikings and this season has handled all the Tennessee High kicking duties, averaging 40.1 yards per punt and connecting on 32-of-33 extra points and 5-of-6 field goals.
"Brandon’s quite a little weapon for us," Stubbs said.
"I think that’s quite an honor for the Felty family to have Brandon come back here and be a Viking and a star kicker."
Something more
Rutherford may seem at first glance like a run-of-the-mill wimpy kicker, but on closer examination the stereotype doesn’t quite fit.
Although he weighs a mere 145 pounds and looks like a kid who’d be given "Gee whiz, mister" lines on a wholesome ’50s sitcom, Rutherford has earned the respect of his teammates as more than flaky kicker.
"Actually, he’s a big part of this team really," said Vikings running back Carlos Howard. "He’s a good leader on the special teams. I really don’t know what we would do if we didn’t have Brandon’s leg out there."
Rowell, a fullback, even admitted that his kicker buddy can beat him a 40-yard dash.
"He’s actually faster than me," Rowell said.
While Rutherford said he more than learned his lesson about going against his coach’s wishes after the ill-fated Science Hill fake, he added that he still always takes an aggressive mindset on the field.
"I’m that kind of guy who wants the ball in my hands," he said. "Even though I’m just a kicker, I love the ball in my hands."
Rutherford played cornerback for Lenoir City during his freshman year before picking up kicking just "goofing off one day in practice" before his sophomore season.
Hijinks may have begun Rutherford’s kicking career, but hard work has sustained it.
In preparation for his first year at Tennessee High, Rutherford said he kicked 100 field goals a day and then stepped up his training to at least 250 kicks a day during his junior season. This off-season he kept up his place kicking regimen while also working on his punting game to grow into the complete player that Stubbs demands his specialists become.
"He probably some days kicks too many balls," Stubbs said.
And while Rutherford still may be prone to practice field pranks, he knows – or at least knows now after his ill-fated punt fake – when to shelve the shenanigans.
"He’s goofy – you’ve got to love him – but he’s good," Howard said.
Although a reliable field goal kicker is a weapon for any team, Howard said he even more values Rutherford’s ability to boot the ball into the end zone time after time on kickoffs.
"It’s all about field position and you know the majority of the time that Brandon Rutherford is going to make a touchback," Howard said. "When I’m getting ready to play defense, I’m already on the other end, just waiting to be on the 20."
Rutherford’s strong season, which includes a 48-yard field goal against Virginia High, has caught the attention of numerous colleges, including Kentucky and Marshall.
"Most definitely he is capable of playing at the next level," Stubbs said. "I hope we can get him there."
While a strong kicking recruit already in place at the University of Tennessee makes following in the footsteps of his grandfather to become a Volunteer unlikely, Rutherford said he’s intrigued by the program at Middle Tennessee State University and sees Super Bowl hero Adam Vinatieri, who went to the NFL out of South Dakota State University, as a role model.
"I want," he said, "to go pro."
Going out strong
First things first, though, Rutherford still has a senior season to finish.
The Vikings travel to Daniel Boone on Friday for their first meeting with the Trailblazers since their Big Eight rivals unceremoniously bounced them out of the second round of the 2009 playoffs, ruining Tennessee High’s perfect 11-0 record.
"This is a revenge game for us seniors," Rutherford said.
"If we had to win one game this year, it would probably be against Boone," Rowell added.
Although Rutherford isn’t lacking in self-confidence, he’s also quick to credit his mom, his extended family and even his girlfriend for their roles in his success.
"They’ve kind of been my motivators," he said. "They keep me in line."
But Rutherford enters the Boone showdown with his usual spunk a bit shaken after missing his first field goal of the season last Friday against Sullivan Central.
"I wasn’t focusing I guess," he said about the miss. "You know, I’m five-for-five, I guess I’ll just smack this one through, but I guess I got a little too big-headed. I just missed it wide right."
"After that miss from Central I questioned myself, but, you know, I can’t do that," he added. "I’ve got to keep my own head up as well as my coaches to let me have that chance. I am one of those guys who wants the ball on my foot at the end of the game because I know in the back of my mind I can put it through those uprights. It’s just going to be if and when because I’ve always wanted that chance, but I’ve never had it."
So if the game’s on the line Friday would the no-nonsense Stubbs trust his kooky kicker?
"I sure would," he said.
Wacky may just prove to be a winner after all.
